JP3226553B2 - Information transmission device and method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information transmission apparatus and method for transmitting information off-line.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a circular printed on paper has been used as a means for transmitting information in an office or the like. Depending on the content of the information, for example, in the case of an office, the circulation target within the office, department, section, specific group, etc. is selected,
In many cases, a list of the persons to be circulated is attached, and after browsing, the list is checked, and the list is circulated to the next viewer.

[0003] If necessary, each person can make a copy of the information or manually input the information into a personal information file (notebook, electronic notebook, memo, etc.), so that each person can receive the information. Transmission of information is completed. The circulars whose circulations have been completed vary depending on the contents, but are subjected to processing such as filing or discarding by incineration, shredding by a shredder, or the like. As described above, information transmission based on paper has a problem that information processing is not easy. Furthermore, even if the information only needs to be contacted temporarily, paper will be consumed, and other information means is desired to save forest resources.

On the other hand, in order to promote paperless operation, OA
With the advancement of equipment, all such information is processed into electronic code information or image information, and a method has been performed in which each person extracts necessary information from a terminal and reads it through an information network such as a local area network.
In many cases, systems called electronic mail, electronic notebook, and electronic conference are used. Since these are information on the network, they can be processed for each person's information file using various computer software and filed on a disk, etc., or printed out on paper by a printer connected to the network. It is also possible.

[0005]

However, the information transmission means using such a network is not necessarily paperless, but is naturally provided with electric wires or optical fibers, and requires medium-sized or larger computer equipment for controlling the network. It is. In addition, it is assumed that they are accurately managed, and that a sufficient number of terminals are provided for individuals to view information and that access to information is not very easy, such as personal computers. Information transmission often does not go well to people other than those who are accustomed to handling.

[0006] Therefore, unless an office has a network with an expensive investment, it has to rely on information transmission means of circulation by paper, and even if the network is maintained and operated, there is a problem of personal terminals, each person has a problem. Unless the problem of terminal use ability is solved, effective information cannot be transmitted through a network, and a method using paper is often used in combination. As a result, the information transmission means of reliable and easy circulation on paper is often the main.

[0007] Further, even though the information transmission through the network is online, due to the nature of the information to be circulated,
Most are one-to-many communications. The information is either sent or written out, and for example, another means or routine must be used to ensure that the person being circulated has read the information. In other words, there is no significant online benefit in ensuring that information has been delivered to the intended audience.

Further, when considering the confidentiality of information,
The security of various protections (passwords, encryption, etc.)
It is considered to be almost the same depending on the computer system used for both offline and online, but it is considered that online is less confidential than offline in that respect unless communication with the external network is physically blocked. Can be

An object of the present invention is to provide an information transmission apparatus and method which solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an input unit for inputting specific data for specifying a viewer, and storage for storing browse information, browse permitter data, and a scheduled expiration date of the browse information. Reading means for reading permitted data from the means, comparing means for comparing with the specific data inputted by the input means, and, as a result of the comparison by the comparing means, when it is determined that both data match, stored in the storage means Display control means for displaying the browsed information on the display means, and when the additional data is input by the input means, additional write means for additionally writing the additional data to the browse information; and A control unit for controlling to store the data indicating the browsing in the storage unit, a warning for prompting browsing based on the scheduled expiration date and the number of unviewed authorized persons. And having a warning means for displaying a message on the display means. In claim 1, the control means can further cause the storage means to store the date and time data when the viewer browsed the browse information. 2. The selecting means according to claim 1, wherein when the additional data is added to the browsing information by the additional writing means, whether to additionally write the browsing information as it is or to additionally write the browsing information is copied. Can be further provided. In Claim 1, the additional recording means creates the additional recording data in a separate file from the browsing information, and the control means can superimpose the separate file when displaying the browsing information on the display means. .
The warning means according to claim 1, wherein when the information transmission device is powered on, the display means displays a warning message prompting browsing based on the scheduled expiration date and the number of unviewed authorized persons. Characteristic information transmission device. In any one of claims 1 to 5, the storage means may be detachable from the main body. In any one of claims 1 to 6, the information transmission device is not connected to a network. The invention according to claim 8 is characterized in that, when the specific data is input by the input means for inputting the specific data for specifying the viewer, the storage means which stores the browse information, the authorized person data and the scheduled expiration date of the browse information. A comparison step of reading the permissible viewing person data and comparing it with the specific data input by the input means; and as a result of the comparison in the comparison step, when it is determined that both data match, the browsing stored in the storage means. A display control step of displaying information on a display unit, an additional step of appending the additional data to the browse information when the additional data is input by the input unit, and that the viewer has browsed the browse information. A control step of controlling data stored in the storage means to be stored in the storage means, the scheduled expiration date, and the number of unviewed authorized persons. There are, and having a warning step of displaying a warning message prompting the viewing on the display means. In claim 8, in the control step, date and time data when the viewer browsed the browsing information can be stored in the storage unit. 9. The selecting step according to claim 8, wherein when the additional data is added to the browse information in the additional step, the additional information is directly added to the browse information or the additional information is added to a copy of the browse information. Can be further provided. In claim 8, in the additional writing step, the additional writing data can be created in a separate file from the browse information, and in the control step, when the browse information is displayed on the display means, the separate file is displayed in an overlapping manner. be able to. In the warning step, in the warning step, when the information transmission device is turned on, a warning message for prompting browsing can be displayed on the display unit based on the scheduled expiration date and the number of unviewed authorized persons.

[0011]

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the present invention. This is an example of an electronic circular notice.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes an electronic circular board which functions stand-alone, uses a battery as a power source, and does not require a power cord or the like, and has a shape suitable for circular circulation. Reference numeral 2 denotes a high-definition display for displaying a list of contents of the circulation, menus, icons, browsing information, and the like. Reference numeral 3 denotes an IC card which stores browsing information, a browsing permitter code, and the like. When additional data is input, the additional data and the output destination data of the additional data are stored. When the IC card 3 is inserted into the IC card insertion slot 4, it is directly connected to the internal bus 11 shown in FIG.
Can be accessed. 6 is a key, power ON / O
FF is performed to select an icon. The key 6 scrolls or jumps on the displayed line, page, front / rear, left / right of the screen. A light pen 5 has almost the same function as the key 6. Reference numeral 9 denotes an internal memory in which a control program is stored. Reference numeral 8 denotes a CPU, which compares the input specific person code with the stored authorized accessor code and, when the browse information is displayed, writes the visitor name data and the browse date / time data into the IC card 3, and the additional data is written. When input, the additional data and the output destination data of the additional data are written to the IC card 3.

Writing can be performed by displaying a place where writing is desired on the display 2 and selecting a writing icon. For writing, handwriting input using the light pen 5 is mainly used.
Alternatively, a keyboard icon on the display 2 is selected, a keyboard is displayed on a part of the display, and the keyboard can be input using the pen 5 or the key 6. The data input by handwriting or key input can be handled simply as graphic bitmap data, or can be converted into codes and recognized by the CPU 8.

FIG. 3 shows a control program stored in the internal memory 9 shown in FIG.

When the power is turned on, in step S15, a startup program stored in the internal memory 9 is executed. If the loaded IC card 3 has a special startup program for display or the like, The program is executed, and an initial screen is displayed on the display 2 set by default. On the displayed initial screen, the management source of the electronic circular board 1, the ID number, the person scheduled to circulate, the scheduled date of circulation, etc. are displayed, and a request is made to input the ID (name, password, etc.) of the viewer. Display. In addition, by checking against the internal calendar, the number of uncirculated persons and the scheduled
Display a warning message to promptly circulate. Then, when the ID is input by the key 6 or the light pen 5, in step S16, the input ID is compared with the ID of the viewer list stored in the internal memory 9 or the IC card 3.

As a result of the comparison, if there is no matching ID, the fact that browsing is not permitted is displayed on the display 2 and the process proceeds to step S26. Then, step S2
At 6, the date and time and its ID are checked, written as a document in the internal memory 9 or the IC card 3, and the process ends.

On the other hand, as a result of checking the ID in step S16, if there is a matching ID, step S17
Then, in step S17, a menu corresponding to the ID is displayed. The display uses icons and the like classified according to the content of the information, and includes necessary information such as the title, abstract, expiration date, and past and unviewed users. Then, when the end subject is selected from the menu, the process proceeds to step S26. On the other hand, when an item other than end is selected in step S18, the process proceeds to step S19, and in step S19, the content of the selected item is loaded from the IC card 3 through the bus 11, and the content of the item is The information is displayed on the display 2 in accordance with the display format pre-written in the internal memory 9 or the IC card 3.

If it is desired to write the displayed content in step S20, the content is written in step S21, and in step S22, it is determined whether or not copying is selected. On the other hand, if the result of determination in step S20 is that writing is not selected, step S2
Move to 2.

Since the writing routine is easier to handle as an interrupt process, the writing icon is always displayed, and when the icon is selected, the mode may be shifted to the writing mode. When writing, I
A mode for directly writing to the original file of the C card 2 and, separately, a mode for copying a writing file without changing the original file and writing the file can be selected, and can be set at the time of circulation. The original file may be superimposed at the time of display as it is, a file dedicated to overwriting may be created, a comment or a mark may be written in the file, and the file may be superimposed at the time of display.

Therefore, the contents browsed or written can be printed out on paper as a personal file, recorded as a file in another system, and converted into an electronic mail, an electronic conference or the like.

If the result of determination in step S22 is that copying has been selected, it is determined in step S23 whether copying is permitted. If the result of determination is that copying is permitted, control proceeds to step S24. Then, it is recorded as a file on the IC card 3 in a format suitable for each usage mode. An index file specifying an ID, a corresponding file, and an output format may be created and recorded on the IC card 3. Then, after copying, step S25
Move to On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S23,
If copying is not permitted, the process moves to step S25.

Accordingly, a hard copy can be obtained by pulling out the IC card 3 from the electronic circular board 1 and passing the data to a digital copier, a printer, or the like. If data from the IC card 3 is downloaded by a word processor or a personal computer, the data can be processed into a desired format.

In step S25, it is determined whether the next item has been selected. If the result of the determination is that the item has been selected, the process returns to step S17 to display a menu. On the other hand, if the next item is not selected in step S25, the process proceeds to step S26.

The electronic circular board may have a multi-window function. In such a case, by selecting an icon, an interrupt can be opened to open multiple windows and multiple pages or multiple items can be displayed at the same time, so that a limited display space can be effectively used and user-friendly operation can be performed. Nature can be realized.

As described above, the document of the viewer is stored in the IC
Since the information is recorded on the card, it is possible to always check the state of the circulation, and it is possible to prevent a circulation error or a delay in date and time, and it is also effective in protecting the confidentiality of information.

Further, since the copy mode is provided, it is possible to move necessary data to various personal files or databases and to process the data, and furthermore, it is possible to transfer code information and image information as they are, and Since there is no need to perform this operation, it is effective in preventing data deterioration and paperless.

Further, according to the present invention, since data can be written, a notable portion in a group and a comment or the like can be input, so that information can be more effectively utilized.

In addition, a reply such as attendance at a meeting or an answer can be made by this writing function. According to the present invention, information can be exchanged while being offline.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to transmit information in an information format due to workability which is difficult with paper, while maintaining the ease of circulation by paper. Also, there is no problem such as expensive capital investment and its maintenance compared to the online system. In addition, even a person who is not used to a terminal such as a keyboard can easily use the terminal, and since it is offline, there is no possibility of being intruded into the network from the outside unlike online, and the confidentiality is high.

In this embodiment, an example in which an IC card is used as a medium has been described. However, a memory such as an optical card, an optical disk, a magnetic disk, or a tape can be used.

Next, a method of creating data for an electronic circular board will be described.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the circulation data creation system.

A workstation (including a display for simplicity) 28 is connected to a network 29 for communication, and can obtain desired external data via the network. The keyboard / mouse 30 allows characters to be input and edited, and the color image scanner 31 allows input of still image data. Data can be input from a VTR / LD 32 as a video signal from a video tape or laser disk, and an image can also be input from a still video (SV) 33. It is also possible to input data offline from a floppy disk drive (FDD) 34, an IC card drive 36, and an optical disk 37 (magneto-optical disk).

A hard disk drive (HDD) 38 or an optical disk 37 contains various input device control programs, word processing programs, desktop publishing programs, and the like to be executed on the workstation 28, and various editing functions can be used.
Further, since the disks 37 and 38 have a large capacity, they can be used as a working area and a buffer.

Data obtained from various input devices is subjected to data processing for an electronic circular board. By processing the data and editing it in an interactive program, anyone can easily create desired circulation information. Depending on the content of each circular,
Adjust the circulation format to the display of the circulation board,
Editing such as giving various special displays. For each data file of the contents of the circulation thus created, a control file that describes the viewer, the permission of copying, the circulation date and time, the presence or absence of a reply, and the like is created, and at the same time, a menu screen file is automatically created. Then, the finally obtained electronic circular board data is written to the IC card 36 and protected from erasure. Note that the created circular data is used as a document and as a spare for the optical disk 37.
To record. The optical disk 37 is physically off-line by ejecting the disk, and thus is superior to the hard disk 38 in leaking confidential information to the external network 29.

After the circulation IC card completed in this way is circulated by the above-mentioned electronic circulation board, it is connected to the system shown in FIG. 4 again, and the circulation completion state is checked.
Checking of each viewer, viewing date and time, presence / absence of copy, presence / absence of reply and processing are performed. These are recorded on the optical disk 37 as documents of the circulation.

By leaving the document in this way, it is possible to narrow down the target of circulation, select the contents of circulation, etc., and to improve the efficiency of the volume and quality of circulation.

[0040]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The configuration as described above solves the inferior processability of information in a hard copy, and displays and writes information in a simple manner, thereby complicating online operations, expensive equipment installation / maintenance, and information transmission. This has the effect of solving the difficulty of confirming the information and significantly improving the efficiency of information transmission, management and processing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view schematically showing an electronic circular board according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a control program stored in an internal memory 7 shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a circulation data creation system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 electronic circular board 2 display 3 IC card 5 light pen 6 key

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Hideki Morishima 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Susumu Matsumura 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Mitsuhiro Hasegawa 3- 30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Ichiro 3-30-2 Shimomaruko 3-chome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Invention Person Kiyonobu Endo 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (56) References JP-A-2-226469 (JP, A) JP-A-1-195568 (JP, A) JP-A Sho57 -111648 (JP, A) JP 1-40543 (JP, B2) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 17/60 162 G06K 17/00

Claims (12)

(57) [Claims] An access unit for inputting specific data for specifying a viewer; and a storage unit storing browsing information, browsing permitter data, and a scheduled expiration date of the browsing information, and reading the browsing permitter data. Comparing means for comparing with the specific data inputted by the input means; and display control for displaying the browsing information stored in the storage means on the display means when it is determined that the two data match as a result of the comparison by the comparing means. Means, when the additional data is input by the input means,
An appending unit that appends the appending data to the browsing information; a controlling unit that controls data indicating that the browsing person has browsed the browsing information in the storage unit; And a warning means for displaying a warning message prompting browsing on the display means based on the number of authorized persons. 2. The information transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control means further stores date and time data on which said browsing information was viewed by said browsing person in said storage means. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein, when the additional data is added to the browse information by the additional means, the additional information is added to the browse information as it is or the additional information is added to a copy of the browse information. An information transmission device, further comprising a selection means for selecting the information. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the additional recording unit creates the additional recording data in a file separate from the browsing information, and the control unit, when displaying the browsing information on a display unit, stores the additional file in the separate file. An information transmission device characterized by being superimposed and displayed. 5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the warning unit is configured to:
An information transmission device, wherein a warning message prompting browsing is displayed on the display means based on the number of unpermitted browsing permitters. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein
The information transmission device, wherein the storage means is detachable from a main body. 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein
The information transmission device is not connected to a network. 8. When specific data is input by an input means for inputting specific data for specifying a viewer, browsing is permitted from storage means storing browsing information, browsing permitter data and a scheduled expiration date of the browsing information. Read the user data,
A comparing step of comparing with the specific data input by the input means; and a display for displaying the browsing information stored in the storage means on the display means when it is determined that the two data match as a result of the comparison in the comparing step. A control step, when the additional data is input by the input unit, an additional recording step of appending the additional data to the browse information, and data indicating that the viewer has browsed the browse information is stored in the storage unit. A control step of controlling to store the information, and a warning step of displaying a warning message prompting the user to browse on the display means based on the scheduled expiration date and the number of unviewed authorized persons. Transmission method. 9. The information transmission method according to claim 8, wherein in the control step, date and time data at which the viewer browsed the browse information is stored in the storage unit. 10. The method according to claim 8, wherein when the additional data is added to the browse information in the additional step, the additional information is directly added to the browse information or the additional information is added to a copy of the browse information. An information transmission method, further comprising a selection step of selecting the information. 11. The additional writing step according to claim 8, wherein the additional writing data is created in a separate file from the browsing information, and in the controlling step, when the browsing information is displayed on a display unit, the additional file is created. An information transmission method characterized by superimposing and displaying. 12. The display unit according to claim 8, wherein in the warning step, when the information transmission device is turned on, a warning message prompting browsing is displayed based on the scheduled expiration date and the number of unpermitted browsing permission. An information transmission method characterized by displaying the information on a computer.